I guess it's always hard to know other people's thoughts, so I'd like to know if people take BBE seriously. Calling it silly is not a criticism any more than calling a silly comedy silly or accepting that anything can be a bit silly. I don't think the people making this game expect to be put on a pedestal beside Goethe for their work.
The way the game is presented, both the art style and the mission texts for instance, as well as the items, seem to make it clear that this is not intended as a serious simulator of any kind but just a fun variation of countless other browser RPGs (unless there is some weird German thing going on that is lost in translation or I'm just too thick to pick up on, but I doubt that).
To me the point of any game is to have fun, and I guess I'm just wondering whether other players do look at the game as a serious pursuit. For me, it feels a bit like being in a big adult playground playing with barbie dolls with a bunch of strangers (which I again don't mean as a criticism or a complaint, I do like to be a bit childish sometimes). I don't know anything about the average age of players, obviously, but to me this is just harmless, silly fun for grownups.
I just wanted to hear from other people, whether they view the game more as a competition. I can't really see it since there is basically no skill involved in being a successful player other than putting in the time. Anyway, I just wanted to know whether my attitude is common or some bizarre outlier in a community that views this as a serious struggle to be the top player or in the top studio. I'm not trying to put people down for putting in time and/or money (I have invested a little time and money myself, but I think that's hardly more than many of us do all the time for other forms of innocuous entertainment), I'm just curious how others see the game. Sure, I get that the top studio people (like the Champagne Room on UK2) can take some pride in being number one, but I wonder whether people who have played for months and months think of this as more than just a bit of fun.